Githyanki

Githyanki (gith-YANG-key) are a psionic humanoid race who dominate the Astral Plane. Slightly reptilian in appearance, tall and emaciated with inhuman faces and pointed ears studded with rings and notches, they hardly resemble their human ancestors.

Eons ago, however, the githyanki forerunners were humans enslaved by the Illithids, their bodies altered through forced breeding and obscene experiments. After being slaves for untold centuries, a warrior and psionicist called Gith incited them to rebellion. Somehow, against all odds, Gith and her rebels succeeded, destroying the illithid empire, which had included uncountable numbers of worlds and threatened the Outer Planes, so thoroughly that even now it has yet to recover its lost glory.

One of the lesser leaders of the rebellion, Zerthimon, claimed that Gith was mad with power and would lead their newly freed race to ruin. Gith, for her part, claimed Zerthimon had been influenced by the illithids into dividing the race. In the ensuing civil war, Zerthimon was killed and his followers retreated to Limbo, becoming known as Githzerai. The mutual hatred between githyanki and githzerai has never ebbed, and is second only to the hate both races feel toward their former masters, the illithids.

Other githyanki offshoots include the Pirates of Gith, who travel the depths of outer space and only rarely return to the Astral, and the bestial race known only as gith, savage inhabitants of the world of Athas, little better than animals. The gith were githyanki altered by a psionic bomb created by the githzerai.

The githyanki are ruled by a queen who is also a lich. Their queen, Vlaakith, has ruled for a thousand years now, only a tiny fraction of the race's total history but long enough for the githyanki to become totally dependent on her. They willingly, even joyously, sacrifice their souls to their Revered Queen, who devours the essence of the race's great heroes in her attempts to become a true deity. The hands of the queen are the githyanki knights, blackguards who ride nightmares and red dragons.

Githyanki are born in hatcheries on the Material Plane. Upon reaching adulthood, they're brought to the Astral Plane, where they dwell in fortresses built on the bodies of dead gods.